Jakarta to get 'new' governor today

Jakarta to get 'new' governor today

Novan Iman Santosa, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Jakarta is bracing for one of its most crucial moments on
Wednesday, with the gubernatorial election to be held at the City
Council building on Jl. Kebon Sirih, Central Jakarta, where the
85-strong council will cast their votes on who will be the next
governor for the 2002-2007 term.

Governor Sutiyoso, 58, is the strongest entrant, having won
support from the council's largest faction, the Indonesian
Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan) with its 30 seats.

He has also secured support from the Golkar Party faction's
nine councillors. As a retired Lieutenant General, Sutiyoso may
also expect full support from the Indonesian Military/National
Police faction's nine members.

On the other hand, there is a strong public resistance to his
re-election as many people consider Sutiyoso to have failed
miserably during his five-year term. One of the main issues was
his alleged failure to take any precautions against the massive
floods that hit the city earlier this year.

But the strongest opposition probably comes from supporters of
the PDI Perjuangan at the grassroots level, as Sutiyoso is a
suspect in the deadly attack of the PDI headquarters on July 27,
1996, when he was still the Jakarta Military Commander.

Therefore, massive rallies of both Sutiyoso's antagonists and
supporters will likely take place on Wednesday.

To safeguard the election, the authorities have conscripted
1,866 officers from various military and police units as well as
city agencies such as the Firebrigade and Transportation Agency.

Chief of the City Police operational control command center
Sr. Comr. Nono Supriyono told reporters after a meeting at the
council building that one councillor had officially asked for
protection as he claimed to have been terrorized. Nono did not
elaborate, but sources said that the councillor was from the PDI
Perjuangan faction.

"We are ready to provide personal protection for councillors
who need our services," Nono said.

The police will also deploy its tactical vehicles equipped
with water cannon, in addition to laying razor-wire.

The gubernatorial election is conducted by writing down
candidates' names on a piece of paper.

A candidate will win the election if he gets a simple majority
of 43 votes. Otherwise, councillors will have to conduct a second
round of voting with the top-five candidates.

If any of the five candidates still fails to obtain a simple
majority, a third round will include only the top two candidates
from the second session results.

Sutiyoso is teamed with current City Secretary Fauzi Bowo. The
other six pairs are Ahmad Heryawan-Igo Ilham, Edy Waluyo-Achmad
Suaidy, Endang Darmawan-Dadang Hamdani, Mahfudz Djaelani-Doli
Diapary Siregar, Marzuki Usman-Halim Asyhari and Tarmidi
Suhardjo-Abdillah Toha.

Tarmidi and Dadang, both from PDI Perjuangan, may risk their
political careers in the party as they dared to defy an order by
its chairwoman, Megawati Soekarnoputri, to the executive board of
PDI Perjuangan to vote for Sutiyoso.

Even though Sutiyoso has secured enormous support, the other
candidates are not discouraged.

"I am ready to lose in the first round of the election as I
stand by my beliefs," said Ahmad Heryawan, chairman of the
Justice Party (PK) faction. "But we will not surrender just like
that. We will cast our votes to other candidates who share a
similar platform with us."

Councillors from PK have had intensified lobbying along with
those from the National Mandate Party (PAN) faction and Tarmidi's
camp.